Missions vs Profits

Posted By marketing on May 26 2010
Filed In: Business, Sustainability

“Good businesses generate missions to drive their profits.  Great businesses generate profits to drive their missions,”
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

Bettering the world is about effectuating positive change in your sphere of influence, no matter how large or small that sphere may be.  Inherent to their nature, businesses have larger spheres than individuals.  I don’t know a single business without a mission (or at the very least, a solid desire to do something good).  Some are overt (think “Don’t Be Evil”), some are a bit more subtle (see the Mozilla Manifesto), and some prefer to live it.

The [arguably] sad truth is, the more profits you make, the more of a difference you make.  Further, you can’t make a difference if you are going out of business.

First step: have a mission – believe in something.  Second step: live it (channel Zappos or Mozilla, not Facebook or BP).  Most importantly, use your business as leverage for social change and remember that you can do more with more: mission-focused, profit-centric.

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